In my opinion, it is not better to embrace this view of salvation primarily because it is not salvation at all. I think it is detrimental to our souls to latch onto "Christianity" without latching onto Jesus and His way of life. Intellectual assent by itself doesn't do much for us. I have read many articles about working out and I have given their effectiveness my "intellectual assent". However, I have yet to put them into practice and so I am not in any better physical condition than I would have been if I had not read the articles. It is not enough just to agree with Jesus. We must also act on our new way of thinking.
I believe that it is equally wrong to say that salvation is by faith but if you are really saved you will do what Jesus said. This way of thinking effectively separates faith in Jesus from discipleship to Him. It makes discipleship an add on to our faith. I believe the problem here is a confusion with terminology. I said at the beginning that I don't believe this is salvation at all. What people are actually talking about is justification or acceptance by God. Salvation means to be saved from something. If I am to be saved from my out-of-shape self it is important for me to find a good workout that I agree with. But it is equally important to get out of bed and actually put the workout into practice. Faith in the goodness of the workout leads me to putting it into practice. Putting it into practice puts me in contact with the laws of physics in such a way that my body changes for the good, if it is a good workout and I do it with the right intensity.
Discipleship to Jesus involves intellectual assent but doesn't stop there. James tells us to "receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. But be not a hearer only, but a doer also." To take the "working out" metaphor a little further let's say that I go to the doctor and he says that I am obese and that I may encounter a number of health problems if I do not get my weight under control. And he prescibes me a workout and diet in order to lose weight. I tell him I'm really sorry and that I believe that he is right. He says he forgives me. But when I come back in six months I have not put the workout into practice and I'm ten pounds heavier. Well, he can forgive me all he wants but it will not save me from the physical condition that my body is in. His word is able to save my body, but not just by agreeing with it. I actually have to be a doer also in order for my body to change. The change is the salvation, not an add on.
In the same way, faith in Jesus brings us justification, or forgiveness. But faith also puts us into contact with the grace (action) of God by moving us into His actions through discipleship to Jesus. Romans 5:1-2 says, "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God. Also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." We become as Peter says, "partakers of the divine nature". This does not happen by intellectual assent alone by the action of following Jesus. God forgives us in order to re-establish contact with Him. And then through following Jesus, even imperfectly, we remain in contact with God in such a way that our souls are saved. Sin doesn't just send us to Hell, but it destroys our souls by disrupting our relationships, espescially our relationship with God. Much the same way as a lack of exercise and proper diet destroys our bodies.
So salvation is not just forgiveness of sins, but is the ongoing process of the removal of sins in order to restore our relationship with God and and those around us. Hence the two greatest commandments. Forgiveness alone cannot restore our relationships. My sister is a drug addict. I forgive her constanlty for the ways that she hurts me and my family but because of the state of her soul, brought on and now reinforced by the drug lifestyle, we have no relationship. I have not cut her off, I am always reaching out to her. I'm not even trying to change her, I just would like to be with her. But she does not have the ability to receive my love because it is running in opposition to her choices. It doesn't matter if God forgives us if the person we are choosing to be is running in opposition to His love. He refuses to make us love Him. And if we do not love Him or at least have chosen to try to love Him, His love for us will never reach our souls. He has given us the power to refuse His love. Christianity by itself doesn't change our will to refuse God's love. Only discipleship to Jesus can, by putting us into contact with the grace of God in such a way that our hearts are made able to receive His love. This is what it means to be "saved by grace". It's really not of ourselves, it's the gift of God. We can't make it happen nor can we earn it. But we can receive it by consciously choosing to follow Jesus in such a way that our souls are open to His transforming grace. And that's real mercy. Not just forgiving my sins but saving me from my sins!